Abstract Guidelines (.pdf file)

Dear Colleagues:

On June 4 – June 7, 2008, the Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference, Golden Anniversary Meeting will convene at the Given Institute in Aspen, Colorado. The theme of the Golden Anniversary Conference will be “Asthma: Insights and Expectations”. With an emphasis on integration between basic, translational and clinical sciences, the meeting will address important issues in the development and progression of asthma. Anchored by twelve “State-of-the-Art” presentations, thematic sessions will address the importance of airway inflammation in asthma, the role of innate immunity in asthma development, the contributions of genes and environment to risk and prognosis, the involvement of the epithelium and smooth muscle and the development of remodeling, and how abnormalities in these various domains interact to alter airway physiology and influence response to therapy.

As with previous Aspen Lung Conferences, we will utilize the successful format of State-of-the-Art presentations grouped with relevant, short presentations. Each presentation will have sufficient time for discussion to facilitate a lively exchange of new ideas and thoughts on the cellular, molecular, physiologic and genetic aspects of asthma, and the translation of these discoveries to novel treatment strategies. There will be four honorary lectures: the Parker B. Francis Lectureship, the Roger S. Mitchell Lecture, the Giles F. Filley Lecture, and the Thomas A. Neff Lecture. The Conference Summary will be given by Homer A. Boushey, M.D., Professor, University of California San Francisco, California.

We are particularly interested in attracting abstracts related to the broad topics above. Accordingly, we invite you and your colleagues to submit abstracts for consideration for presentation at the conference. Please use the enclosed abstract form as your guide. The deadline for abstract submission is February 14, 2008. All who submit abstracts will be invited to attend the conference. Time limitations, however, do not allow all submitted abstracts to be presented. In the past, about one third of the submitted abstracts were accepted for presentation or poster sessions based on evaluation by a Selection Committee. All investigators will be notified on or near March 21, 2008 about acceptance of their abstracts. Additionally, please notify us if you wish to attend, even if you do not plan to submit an abstract, as we expect a large turnout.

We look forward to your participation in the Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference, Golden Anniversary Meeting, and to a combination of outstanding science and great fun. We hope that you and your colleagues will be able to join us.

Sincerely yours,

Richard J. Martin, M.D.
Chair, Golden Anniversary Meeting
Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference
Professor of Medicine
National Jewish Medical and Research Center
University of Colorado Denver
Denver, Colorado, USA

Monica Kraft, M.D.
Co-Chair, Golden Anniversary Meeting
Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference
Associate Professor of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina, USA

E. Rand Sutherland, M.D.
Co-Chair, Golden Anniversary Meeting
Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference
Associate Professor of Medicine
National Jewish Medical and Research Center
University of Colorado Denver Denver, Colorado, USA